Michal Kempný (born 8 September 1990) is a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...
who is currently playing with
HC Sparta Praha
Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as ...
in the
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...
(ELH). Kempný formerly played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) and won the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
as a member of the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
.
Playing career
Kempný played as a youth in
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
with
HC Dyje Břeclav and made his professional debut in the
Slovak Extraliga
The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...
with
HK 36 Skalica
Hockey Club Skalica is a professional ice hockey team based in Skalica, Slovakia. It has been a member of the Slovak Extraliga since 1997–98 Slovak Extraliga, 1997–98 season, when the squad was promoted from the Slovak 1.Liga. Team is currentl ...
.
Moving to play more competitively, Kempný played for
HC Kometa Brno
HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 13 Czechoslovak (and Czech) league ch ...
of the
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...
.
After seven seasons of professional hockey in the ELH, Kempný was signed by Russian club,
Avangard Omsk
Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental H ...
, to play in the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
on 29 April 2015. In the
2015–16 season, he quickly transitioned to become the club's top defenseman, scoring 21 points in 59 games from the blueline.
![Michal kempny](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Michal_kempny.jpg)
Upon competing in his first senior international tournament for the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
at the
2016 IIHF World Championships, on 23 May 2016, Kempný as an undrafted free agent was signed to a one-year contract with the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
of the NHL. Kempný made his NHL debut on 12 October. He scored the first goal of his NHL career on 30 December against
Cam Ward
Cameron Kenneth Ward (born February 29, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played the majority of his fifteen-year professional career for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for ...
of the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
.
In his first season with the club, he recorded 8 points in 50 games. On 27 May 2017, Kempný, who was set to become a restricted free agent, was re-signed by the club to a one-year extension.
On 19 February 2018, Kempný was traded to the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
in exchange for the higher of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
or Washington's own third-round pick in the
2018 NHL Entry Draft
The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...
; the pick would later be dealt and ultimately resulted in the selection of
Linus Karlsson Linus Karlsson may refer to:
* Linus Karlsson (table tennis)
* Linus Karlsson (ice hockey)
{{hndis, Karlsson, Linus ...
by the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
. Kempný scored his first career playoff goal in Game 1 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals against the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
on a wrist shot from the point. He won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals on June 7, 2018, and subsequently signed a four-year, $10 million extension with Washington.
While training for
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, Kempný tore his
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
. On 7 October 2020, the Washington Capitals announced that the defenseman had surgery to repair his injury. In consequence, Kempný's season was limited to only two games for Capitals' AHL affiliate team,
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...
.
On 27 December 2021, the Capitals recalled him back to active duty after they lost six players due to the league's coronavirus protocols, including three of their top six defensemen. On 29 December 2021, Kempný had an assist in his first regular-season NHL appearance in almost two years.
As a free agent from the Capitals, following five seasons within the organization, Kempný joined his third NHL club after he was signed to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...
on 24 July 2022. Unable to make the Kraken out of training camp, Kempný was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate,
Coachella Valley Firebirds
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey expansion team based in Thousand Palms, California, that began play in the 2022–23 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Seattle Kra ...
to begin the
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season. He made two appearances with the Firebirds before he was placed on unconditional waivers by the Kraken in order to mutually terminate his contract on 20 October 2022.
Having returned to the Czech Republic, Kempný returning to the Extraliga for the first time since 2015, agreeing to a two-year contract with HC Sparta Praha, on 25 October 2022.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempny, Michal
1990 births
Living people
Avangard Omsk players
Chicago Blackhawks players
Coachella Valley Firebirds players
Czech ice hockey defencemen
BK Havlíčkův Brod players
Hershey Bears players
SHK Hodonín players
HC Kometa Brno players
People from Hodonín
Sportspeople from the South Moravian Region
HK 36 Skalica players
HC Slavia Praha players
HC Sparta Praha players
SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč players
Stanley Cup champions
Undrafted National Hockey League players
Washington Capitals players
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States